Golly gee, I’ll be darned, we’ve hit a few more happy milestones in our empty nest life.
Our adult kids were officially welcomed to the ‘big’ table for Thanksgiving.
After we ate, our youngest revealed her progress on the genealogy project making it easy to avoid any political conversations! She’s made the project so colorful (not just in stories she’s found that I told you about in the previous post) but by her color-coded organizational techniques.
As soon as someone mentioned a name, she was able to quickly find the article, the photo, or the tab under which she’d organized their information. We were all mesmerized by the project. And her accuracy in finding details online. The positive vibes felt around the table were heart-warming.
It isn’t so much what’s on the table that matters, as what’s on the chairs.
W.S. Gilbert
The next morning, the kids were still here, at the table solving the crossword we tried solving the night before. They’re big kids now. No more Playdoh piles to clean up.
We at a late breakfast and were then chauffeured around by our son-in-law to a couple of stores for a rekindling of our Black Friday shopping tradition. It felt weird – not the same as the fun we’d had in 2019. Definitely not as many hot deals and not so many smiling faces. The lines were polite, though. The feel of ‘normal’ was teetering on the edges.
We only shopped for about 3 hours total (including drive time). We found a few things to wrap as gifts, and that’s enough. I found a special gift too…I sure miss this little guy.
In-between trips to the stores, our youngest and spouse headed out to the other gatherings they had planned for the weekend. I remember Mr. and I when we were first married, all the different holiday celebrations kept us busy. They were here and gone before we could process the hugs!
Our oldest stayed a bit later, and we had some valuable mom/dad/daughter time. Golly gee, she’s so grown up now. Excited to decorate her own home. She’s thankful for the paint we bought her for Christmas so that she can paint her living room and kitchen before decorating for the holidays. Yay, gifts like that I don’t have to wrap and/or do all the work to enjoy. And the Snapchats she sent with her progress made me smile with joy.
While the girls were here, we took a quick opportunity to capture a family photo or two. Thankfully our SIL is happy to take the photos. We accomplished the photo session in less than 8 minutes. Which photo do you think I chose for our family Christmas card?
After the girls left, I was exhausted. My work-from-home, never going out in public much self, was spent. I had also received news from my cousin that my uncle has been placed on palliative care with days to live. She was driving and hoping she’d get there in time to see him. I also saw the Facebook update that my friend’s niece that had gone missing on September 23 body was found in the woods. Their family has closure, but the loss is unbearable for her 4 young children and large family who couldn’t be together with her again. Sigh.
Mr. brought me the mail. I opened my birthday card from my Dad and his sweetheart. This is the first year he/she misspelled my first name. Dang dementia. My heart was heavy thinking about everything. My brain was tired so I went to bed at 6 pm.
Golly gee…no wonder our cats thought 3:30 am was the right time to wake up. So I got up, of course. Hungry cats must be fed.
When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.
Kristin Armstrong
I busied my brain while I sorted photos. I picked out the Christmas card online, and placed the order. While I don’t want to support the big box stores, Walmart does make 1-hour photos convenient. So, yeah, I did that. And waited for the text to say when my order was ready for pick-up.
I got ready to go and even planned on doing some Saturday shopping while I was out and about. That’s always been my tradition to support small business Saturdays. But a brief snowstorm hit. First snow roads are not the best time to drive in Wisconsin. Between the salt and then refreezing on the roads, it’s a mess.
So Mr. and I decided to decorate instead. Yes, you’re right, I decided. He hauled in the boxes and I started unboxing. Oh, and, yes, if you’re wondering, Mr. did get the lights on the house earlier in the week.
Together, we decided that it is time to let the grown-up girls pick out what Dickensville houses and figures they want for their own homes. When they were growing up, they adored my collection. It has been a really long time since we’ve put the village up for display. It’s a lot of work. For Mr.
As he took out the items and put them in place, it was a lot of, “I forgot I bought you this one too.”
I get to decorate the other rooms, with help from these two sisters. So far, all of it is still standing and waiting for me to put on the finishing touches. Dessy was howling this morning under the tree though…
Golly gee, it’s like Christmases past exploded in our house. I remember the sparkles in the eyes of our kids as they admired this miniature town. Is it taking bringing out all of this stuff to revive our spirits to keep on living despite that challenges we face? I think so.
While Mr. set up the village, the snow melted outside so I ran to the store. I found a few small items that I traditionally put in the kids’ stockings. I found more lightbulbs (who knew they’d go bad sitting in boxes?) for the village. It took me two stores to find them.
I don’t think we’ll spend much time serving beverages here on this bar?
We are anxiously counting the days until the girls arrive again on Christmas Eve to see if our decorating revives any of their childhood memories too?!
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “golly gee.” Use “golly gee” or another interjection that displays the same sentiment in your post. Enjoy!
PS – What family traditions have you kept or modified the last two years? What tradition did your parents do with you that still makes you smile? What have you revived to share with your kids/family? Do you eat Lefsa? Pecan or Pumpkin pie?
Wow, you have so many wonderful family photos, Shelley! That power strip is seriously overloaded, be careful. Have a blessed Christmas!
It looks worse than it really is, John. We have 17 bulbs plugged in @ 7W each, totaling 119W. It’s a bit more than a standard 100W bulb, but at a 1A current draw it’s not anywhere near the 20A breaker in the power strip. 🙂
Ah, I see, you know your watts and amps!
Thanks for sharing the techy details!
Thanks, John. We’re a family that does capture photos as much as we can.
LOL – yeah, the power strip is full.
Same to you – I hope you have a wonderful trip back to see your family and that you have a blessed Christmas too!
Looks like a very nice family gathering, Shelley – that does make the holiday experience much more than the food. I love the photos, although that rat’s nest of extension cords gives me pause.
LOL! Yeah, it looks bad, but see my reply to John, above.
Thanks, Dan. LOL – somehow I knew you’d pause at the cords. Mr. reassures me it’s safe.
I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving. I’ll be by soon to checkout your SoCS!
We had cherry pie, because Mary couldn’t find banana cream or coconut cream. We paired it with a three-vanilla flavored ice cream, and was it good…
Kudos to your daughter for putting together a great genealogy. That’s like a lifetime job…
Sounds like you and Mary had a great Thanksgiving. Oh, I love cherry pie too. I’ve never been a fan of the two cream pies, but I remember seeing my grandma make them and the taller the toppings the better.
You know, that’s what I said to her – it’s a BIG job. Her husband’s grandmother is still working on their family tree, so you’re right, it’s a lifetime job.
I love that ornament for remembering Copper! Last year I made my DH a Shutterfly book with some of our favorite pics of our dog. We both cried when he opened it. But it’s a great memory. I need to find an ornament like that.
Nice pics of your gathering and decorations. We have had a rolling hotel here since I got back from England Monday night. Today I rest. I will get to the Christmas decor soon. Or so I say. Ha!
Yes, when I saw the ornament, I just had to get it. I should do a Shutterfly book too. I’d have a hard time limiting my pictures… I’d probably cry too looking at it again. I printed a few photos to find one that would work for the frame and I teared up when I opened up the photo envelope.
Isn’t is so fun (and exhausting) to have family around? I’m so happy to hear you made it to England and back safe and sound and loaded with hugs to keep you warm.
Decorations can wait – relax and enjoy the memories you made.
PS – I’m so happy you stopped by to share your thoughts!
Did I miss when your daughter got married? Congrats. I have lots of miniature houses too but no place to display them. Yours looks so fun. Nice family photo.
It was a one time post back in the summer. They got married just the two of them in the Sand Dunes of Colorado. We’re hopeful that there will be a one year anniversary celebration…!
Displaying the houses does take up a lot of space. We haven’t displayed them since 2005 I think? That’s a long time in storage.
Your family celebration looked like you all had fun being together. Despite the challenges, you all made it work!
Oh goodness – I was shocked by your mention about your friend’s niece. That is so awful. They must be completely heartbroken.
Yes, it is a shocking experience for their family. They are heartbroken and determined to make sure the criminal pays for what happened to her.
Zen-Den and I are fluid and flexible when it comes to any holiday traditions. Some years we do nothing, other years we do a little. In the last two years this attitude has done us well. Pecan over pumpkin.
Yes, that attitude helps. Mr. and I find that when it’s just the two of us, it’s easier to pull off.
I must confess, I took a half slice of each pie since I like them both equally. They were extra tasty since they were made by professionals from a quaint bakery in the town my youngest lives in.
I like the Dickens village – I always liked those Christmas villages. I knew someone years ago and one room in her basement was set up for her Christmas village and people and a training that ran around the Village. I like the second picture of your family best. I also liked the ornament of Copper – very cute and the perfect way to remember your little man.
Thank you, Linda – I’m sorry that WordPress is acting so weird. Your comment ended up in my trash folder. There’s nothing trashy about your comment!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We do have a train for our village, it just wouldn’t fit. When we first started the village, Mr. built a room long table for it and a tunnel for the train to go through. I’m sure that had to do a lot with our kids falling in love with the tradition. Aw, I had a hunch that you’d like the Copper ornament. I didn’t realize how much I missed him until I had to go through photos to find one to put in the frame.
The big villages are just incredible. I really enjoyed looking at my friend’s village. I did like the ornament. I thought of you today as I told you about my friend who lost her German Shepherd about two months ago after getting its routine yearly shots. Her other two dogs got them the same time and were fine. She lives in a rural area, by herself, and missed having the security of her Shepherd. Her Goldens are not ferocious enough she says. So she applied to the Humane Society in Windsor. All they had was a female Shepherd/Collie mix, so she clicked to make an appointment. This dog does not like men – Ilene is a widow but has male family members who come to the house, so she had to back out of her plans. My neighbor Marge got a shelter dog and it similarly hated men – had been mistreated by a man at one time and would growl or snarl and lunge at any male that came into Marge’s house. Woody was not much bigger than Copper, just hairier. When he saw me in the yard in the Summer he was A-OK, but in the Winter if I wore my hat, he’d bark his head off. 🙂
Aw, that’s a bummer for your friend. I too would want a protector dog if I lived alone. Copper was small, but he had a big bark. The day we took him to say goodbye, the vet stuck her hand into the car to pat his head and he turned into the most ferocious dog. I had never seen him do that with anyone before. She apologized up and down, “I should’ve known better not to do that with a Chihuahua mix. They are extremely territorial.” Dogs sure have personalities, and despite what some people say about them not having memories, I do think they remember how they’ve been treated and act accordingly.
I agree with you – animals are smarter than we give them credit for. See, Woody was a mix, most likely Chihuahua mix. Small if not for the fur. My friend says she’ll just wait until Spring, but I know she is nervous. Before cellphones, she used to have people who would run off the road (she lives on a curve) and have an accident and would go to knock on her front door to ask for help. Her husband used to answer the door and with the dogs, they felt okay doing that. No longer though – most people have cellphones now.
Maybe she could just put a Beware of Dogs sign and that would deter the questionable folks? I think they even make fake barking machines triggered by motion?
I’m going to mention that to Ilene Shelley – that might give her some comfort to do that.
🙂
I think I went to SPAM again … hmm.
You did – it went right to the trash folder. What’s wrong, I have no idea!?
I now have 308 SPAMs – WordPress has gone wonky for sure. I am glad you got it.
Oy, that’s a lot of spam!
I would go thru them, but 99.9% sure they are not legit. I kept up with them til they “blossomed”!
Good thinking!
An uplifting post Shelley 🙂
Aw, thanks, Brian. It’s great to hear from you. I keep thinking about you and the situation in Australia…I hope you’re safe! I’m pinging back to your Last Photo on SD card post. My picture of the Copper ornament is the last one I took. https://bushboy.blog/2021/12/01/last-on-the-card-november-2021/
Oh yes, we have a changing continent weather wise. After last weeks rain, it is now warm/hot (up to 30C) so bring on 110% humidity!!!
110% humidity means snow here. Reading how hot it is there makes me sweaty in my flannel jammies and robe…it’s 28 F here…! ❄☃❄
Goodness me Shelley. My virus protection just had the ping back as a malicious site!!!! Luckily I saw our lovely little Copper tree ornament in the post. Thanks for joining in 🙂 🙂
Thank you for rescuing me, it’s scary to be considered malicious! I’m glad you remembered Copper’s ornament. Thanks for letting us join in on the fun.